ny, for his friendly behaviour towards the company; or, in lieu thereof, that Mr. Hay be permitted to purchase ten thousand acres, without being obliged to settle the same, at two pounds ten shillings sterlg. pr. hundred acres, subject to office fees and quit-rents. Resolved, That a present of six hundred and forty acres of land be made to the Reverend Mr. Henry Patillo, on condition that he will settle in the said Colony. Resolved, That the agent duly attend to the above resolves, unless when the interest of the company makes the contrary necessary. By order of the Proprietors. RICHD. HENDERSON, Prest. Silas Deane to James Hogg, November, 1775. At the time of granting the New England charters, the crown of Great Britain had no idea of any real interest or property in the American lands. The pope, as vicar of Christ, pretended, very early, to have an absolute right, in fee simple, to the earth and all that was therein; but more particularly to the countries and persons of heretics, which he constantly gave away among his favourites. When the crown of Great Britain threw off its submission to the pope, or, in other words, by setting itself at the head of the church, became pope of Great Britain, this old, whimsically arrogant nation was, in degree, restrained; and Queen Elizabeth, in the year 1579, most graciously gave to Sir Walter Raleigh all North America, from the latitude 34°, north, to 48°, north; and extending west, to the great Pacific ocean; to which immense territory she had no more right or title than she had to the empire of China. On Sir Walter's attainder, this was supposed to revert to the crown, and in 1606, James 1st, in consequence of the same principle, granted the south part of the above, to a company then called the London Company; and, in 1620, granted the northernmost part to a company called the Plymouth Company, containing within its bounds all the lands from 40° to 45° north latitude, and west to the South Seas. This company granted, in 1631, to certain persons, that tract described in this charter, which you will see was very liberal, and rendered them (as in reality they were) independent of the crown for holding their lands; they having, at their own expense, purchased or conquered them from the natives, the original and sole owners. The settlement of Connecticut began in 1634, when they came into a voluntary compact of government, and governed under it, until their charter, in 1662, without any difficulty. They were never fond of making many laws; nor is it good policy in any state, but the worst of all in a new one. The laws, or similar ones to those which I have turned down to, are necessary in a new colony, in which the highest wisdom is to increase, as fast as possible, the inhabitants, and at the same time to regulate them well. The first is to secure the general and unalienable rights of man to the settlers: without this, no inhabitants, worth having, will adventure. This, therefore, requires the closest and earliest attention. Next to this, is the mode or rule by which civil actions may be brought, or the surest ways and means by which every individual may obtain his right. Then a provision for the safety of the community against high handed offenders, house breakers, &c. There are two ways of regulating a community; one by correcting every offender, and the other to prevent the offence itself; to effect the latter, education must be attended to as a matter of more importance than all the laws which can be framed, as it is better to be able to prevent, than after, to correct a disease. Peace officers will be necessary, and these ought to be chosen by the people, for the people are more engaged to support an officer of their own in the execution of his trust, than they will ever be in supporting one forced upon them. Some regulation of civil courts ought early to be made; the most simple and least expensive is best; an honest judge will support his dignity without a large salary, and a dishonest one can have no real dignity at any rate. The General Assembly must be the supreme fountain of power in such a state, in constituting which, every free man ought to have his voice. The elections should be frequent, at least annually; and to this body every officer ought to be amenable for his conduct. Every impediment in the way of increase of people should be removed-of course, marriage must be made easy. Overgrown estates are generally the consequence of an unequal division of interest, left by a subject at his decease. This is prevented by an equal or nearly equal right of inheritance. This has taken place in all the N. England colonies, and in Pennsylvania, to their great emolument. All fees of office ought to be stated and known, and they should be stated as low as possible. Some crimes are so dangerous in their tendency, that capital punishments are necessary; the fewer of these, consistent with the safety of the state, the better. There ought to be some terms on which a man becomes free of the community. They should be easy and simple; and every one encouraged to qualify himself in character and interest to comply with them; and these terms should be calculated to bind the person in the strongest manner, and engage him in its interest. A new colony, in the first place, should be divided into small townships or districts, each of which ought to be impowered to regulate their own internal affairs; and to have and enjoy every liberty and privilege not inconsistent with the good of the whole. Tenure of lands is a capital object, and so is the mode of taking out grants for, and laying them out. If individuals are permitted to engross large tracts, and lay them out as they please, the population of the country will be retarded. Precarious must be the possession of the finest country in the world, if the inhabitants have not the means and skill of defending it. A militia regulation must, therefore, in all prudent policy, be one of the first. Though entire liberty of conscience ought every where to be allowed, yet the keeping up among a people, a regular and stated course of divine worship, has such beneficial effects, that the encouragement thereof deserves the particular attention of the magistrate. Forms of oaths are ever best, as they are concise, and carry with them a solemn simplicity of appeal to the Divine Being; and to preserve their force, care should be had to avoid too frequent a repetition of them, and on ordinary occasions. The preservation of the peace, being the capital object of government, no man should be permitted, on any occasion, to be the avenger of the wrongs he has, or conceives he has, received; but, if possible, every one should be brought to submit to the decision of the law of the country in every private as well as public injury. Providing for the poor is an act of humanity; but to prevent their being numerous and burthensome to the society, is at once humane and an act of the highest and soundest policy; and to effect it, the education of children, and the manners of the lower orders are constantly to be attended to. As, in a well ordered government, every one's person and property should be equally secure, so each should pay equally, or on the same scale, for the expenses in supporting the same. In a new and wild country, it will be deemed, perhaps, impossible to erect schools; but the consequences are so great and lasting, that every difficulty ought to be encountered rather than give up so necessary, so imporportant an institution. A school will secure the morals and manners, and, at the same time, tend to collect people together in society, and promote and preserve civilization. The throwing a country into towns, and allowing these towns particular privileges, like corporations, in England or America, tends to unite the people, and, as |